Eastern European Member States present results inferior to EU mean value in life expectancy and health data evaluation. Not only curative care is necessary to improve and to reach international standards, but preventive medicine, population information, and patient orientation are necessary for a global performance. EU solidarity, a key word, requires new paradigms.

First, breaking payment silos currently limiting the coordination of actors, we must propose initiatives able to assess global performance. Second, developing preventive medicine, health education and cooperation with primary care and with all the professionals involved in this challenge. Third, contributing to sustainability by offering relevant cost-effective solutions. As private providers, we are engaged to demonstrate positive and efficient management.

Solidarity in the EU requires to diffuse best practices and to base solutions according to HTA, as recently reiterated by the Croatian Health Minister currently in charge of the European Presidency. UEHP welcomes the new year and extends its best wishes for all European citizens well-being.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is a private organisation with an international focus consisting of doctors and nurses as well as representatives of numerous other professions.

During the whole year, the AMEOS Group also provides financial support to other institutions.

73% of French people say they are "pessimistic" about the evolution of the health system, and 62% are rather pessimistic about how they will be treated in the future. There are three main reasons for this pessimism: the observation that health professionals are suffering (61%), the persistence of "medical deserts" (59%), and the inadequacy of the financial resources allocated to the health system (57%).

To remedy this situation, 88% of French people consider as a priority that the public authorities should "provide more support to health professionals and health establishments of all statuses". They attach a great deal of importance to the notion of proximity, and believe that more "freedom of action and initiative" should be given to those who provide care in the field (85%). In this context, for 67% of French people, private hospitalisation is a legitimate way of ensuring the sustainability of the health system and the balance in the provision of care. (December 2019)

* Opinion survey conducted by ViaVoice for the French Federation Private Hospitals (FHP), online, from 19 to 25 September 2019, among a sample of 1,000 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over.

The ceremony was chaired by the Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, with the presence of the Secretary of State for Tourism, the Secretary of State for Internationalization and the Deputy Minister of Health.

The subscribing entities signed this Protocol to achieve a more effective management of the external promotion of Medical Tourism in Portugal. The ability to care for tourists already existed, but this activity vector has now become a national strategy. The synergies between the four entities, with the institutional support of various State agencies, favour the formation of a differentiating identity of the Portuguese offer and of a clearer and reinforced governance.
“More economy in health, more health in the economy” is the challenge of those who want to be even more competitive and efficient, who want to put their resources and skills towards an even more qualified healthcare offer.

It is an honour for APHP to have actively taken part in the genesis of the Medical Tourism Protocol, directly representing private hospitals but also institutionally representing Healthcare at the highest level.

The French Federation of Private Hospitals (FHP) presented its annual Trophies on 11 December 2019, which reward outstanding initiatives implemented by private clinics and hospitals. The rehabilitation clinic La Lovière won the first prize among the 5 finalists, for its "escape game", "Find the ghost of La Lovière!"

The La Lovière clinic is a rehabilitation establishment specialized in locomotor therapy and neurorehabilitation. This initiative is part of therapeutic activities offered to patients.

The goal of this game is to find the identity of the ghost by progressing within the clinic, thanks to various enigmas and challenges: charades, word puzzles, archery, mental calculation, infernal circuit, puzzle, blind search, ring throwing, reading of plans. The clinic is transformed into a large playground. The introduction of a "game" aspect during a therapeutic activity has demonstrated a greater involvement of patients. The "escape game" concept makes it possible to propose a global, fun and collective therapeutic activity.

The different sessions proposed throughout the circuit call upon a wide range of functions: executive (orientation, reasoning, praxis...), upper and lower limb motor skills (movement, transfer, balance, throwing, fine grasping, hand-eye coordination, dexterity...), sensitive (superficial and deep sensitivity stimulation). This escape game also allows to multiply the social interactions thanks to the constitution of teams.

Participation is on a voluntary basis and is open to all patients and their families. However, the escape game is proposed to patients whose rehabilitation therapists think it could help them and facilitate their therapeutic progression. Each escape game session can accommodate 3 teams of 5/6 patients/families; although it is possible to set up more teams depending on the number of professionals available and/or the size of the premises. One session is organized each month.

Following the presentation of the report “The State of Health in the EU”, which portrays the health system profile of each Member State, the Portuguese Association of Private Hospitals (APHP) sent a letter to the European Commission Representation in Portugal to criticize the analysis, which in APHP´s view is unjustifiably, carried out almost exclusively on the public component of health systems, in a context where, throughout Europe, there is a growing contribution of the private hospital sector.

For APHP, the annual publication of this Report is an important time to assess the state of health systems in Europe, but in view of its relevance, APHP recommends that, in the future, this type of publication should not discriminate against the private hospital sector, «which has been gaining trust from citizens, investing and differentiating itself and as such has become a reference partner in the health system»

Actually, Anna-Maria Grimm, patient of the palliative ward at the Sana Klinikum Hof, thought that she didn't have much time left. She was admitted to the clinic with an unclear abdominal swelling and two tumors were diagnosed. "My stomach hurt a lot, I just wanted to fall asleep." She didn't want to be examined any more and actually didn't want to talk much. "It is often difficult to find access to patients who are in a hopeless situation. A great deal of sensitivity is required here - especially when you know that an examination and appropriate treatments can improve the patients' quality of life," says Dr. Silke Pietsch, Head of the Palliative Ward Section. Together with therapist Birgit Cronenberg, she approached the patient in a new way.

The 80-year-old was lying in her patient room when the door opened, Birgit Cronenberg came in and put a white blanket in one corner of the room. I thought: What's the matter - is she bringing a baby with her today? says the elderly lady. But no, far from it. "Suddenly, Frieda padded into the room on velvety-soft big paws. She came to my bed, looked at me from her warm dark brown eyes - and already it had happened to me." Anna-Maria Grimm, who was otherwise afraid of dogs, could hardly believe it. With shining eyes and a blissful smile on her face she says: "It was love at first sight, like with my husband 52 years ago in the ballroom."

Frieda, the two-year-old Goldendoodle dog lady, has been coming to the palliative care unit every Tuesday since the end of last year. She looks like a cuddly white cloud sheep, lying well-behaved on her blanket. She doesn't make contact until Birgit Cronenberg allows her to. Animal-assisted therapy is a complementary treatment method that focuses on the psychological effect. It essentially aims at the quality of life of people with severely restrictive and distressing symptoms. In general, it aims to improve well-being, reduce pain and anxiety and promote communication. "Animal-assisted therapy offers patients the opportunity to experience appreciation and self-efficacy within a protected framework," reports Birgit Cronenberg. The trained psychologist appreciates the dog’s presence - it creates a relaxed and soothing atmosphere. "One gets into conversation about the dog, uncovers resources and can activate them. It serves, so to speak, as a mediating medium between the patient and the psychologist - the relatives can also be more easily integrated into the course of the illness."

As far as hygiene is concerned, there is nothing to worry about - Frieda is vaccinated and is only allowed to enter the palliative ward via the terrace. The animal-supported therapy in the palliative medical context stands under the central idea of the hospice idea: "It is not a question of giving to the life more days, but of giving to the days more life." (Cicely Saunders).

Section head Dr. Pietsch is very grateful for the new therapy offer that benefits her patients. "We see our palliative ward as a place to live. We treat patients with incurable, life-threatening diseases that have a severe burden of symptoms. In our holistic work it is important to us to alleviate complaints and problems and to improve the quality of life." This also includes supporting people in dealing with the changed life situation. "Our goal is to allow our patients to return to their home environment whenever possible. However, the ward is also a place where dying is permitted when the time has come."

In the case of Anna-Maria Grimm, the encounter with Frida allowed access to the patient. After a thorough examination, it was established that surgery not only improved her quality of life, but also extended her life expectancy from a few months to several years. Anna-Maria Grimm is overjoyed about her encounter with Frida. "It took me only 80 years to experience something like that." Today she is very happy to have accepted the advice of the doctors for an operation.

The Sana Klinikum Hof, with its 465 inpatient beds and 22 day-care places, is one of the largest somatic acute care hospitals in Bavaria. In more than fifteen specialized departments the private hospital treats annually approximately 24,000 stationary and 45,000 ambulatory patients.